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An insane bit of choppy jazz funk – and easily the best record ever cut by this monster combo! The group's a trio of jazz fusion luminaries – with Steve Grossman on tenor, Don Alias on drums and percussion, and Gene Perla on bass and piano – and the best cuts have a raw chopping groove to them that other groups at the time were trying to cop, but could never match! Includes the insane break track "Sweetie Pie", plus Stevie Wonder's "Creepin", "Duet", "King Tut", "Samba De Negro" and "Vaya Mulatto".

Seminal work from the post-Clyde McPhatter version of The Drifters – a sublime batch of singles that really showcase all that's great from the second chapter of the group! The set's way more than a "best of" – as it was the only full album to feature most of these cuts – and together, they really illustrate the excellent changes the group had made – including their alliance with the Leiber & Stoller team, and their great use of exotic rhythms and instrumentation! Some cuts still echo earlier R&B, while others have plenty of cool Latin elements in the mix too – a rhythm that really works well for the vocals of Ben E King's lead with the group. Titles include "Sweets For My Sweet", "There Goes My Baby", "Stranger On The Shore", "Save The Last Dance For Me", "When My Little Girl Is Smiling", "Ruby Baby", "True Love True Love","Another Night With The Boys", "What To Do", "Mexican Divorce", and "Room Full Of Tears".

Hard to believe how important this soundtrack was, back in the day. One of the first good hip hop soundtracks, and a motherlode of great cuts like "Paid In Full (7 minute Cold Cut remix)" by Eric B & Rakim, "Butcher Shop" by Kool G Rap, "Colors" by Ice T, "Mind Is A Terrible Thing To Waste" by M.C. Shan, and "Go On Girl" by Roxanne Shante. More by Salt N Pepa, Big Daddy Kane, 7A3, and Rick James. Marley Marl produced the motherlode of these cuts, and this was the early days of the Cold Chillin/Warner alliance.

A overlooked gem in Elvin Jones' Blue Note career – and an album that's virtually the blueprint for the Stone Alliance sound forged later in the decade by bassist Gene Perla and reedman Steve Grossman! Both players are working to full effect on this smoking little set – mixing some of the more spiritual modes of other group members with their own sharper-edged, funky-leaning styles – all held together perfectly by both Jones' tight work on drums, and his expansive musical vision! Other players are great too – and include Pepper Adams on baritone sax, David Liebman on flute and tenor, and Jan Hammer on acoustic piano – an instrument he handles with surprising subtlety and soul. Many cuts have a hard, choppy groove – and titles include a remake of "Gee Gee", plus "One's Native Place", "Mr Jones", and "What's Up – That's It".

Rare grooves in many flavors – a wonderful collection of rare gems from the American 70s underground – and a set that's overflowing with cuts from some of the most valuable albums of the period! The core vibe here is jazz, but there's also a lot more going on too – bits of funk, some spiritual touches, and some downright soulful moments too – all presented in a set of tracks that really lives up to the "deep" in the title – a bit like Gilles Peterson pulling together music of this nature, but as if he dug even deeper than usual! Titles include "Shake Your Poo Poo (45 version)" by Earl Carter & The Fantastic 6, "Vaya Mulatto" by Stone Alliance, "Free Man" by George Freeman, "African Rhythms (45 version part 1)" by Oneness Of Juju, "Mr PC" by Mike Selesia, "Destroy The Nihilist Picnic" by London Experimental Jazz Quartet, "Intergalactic Love Song (alt mix)" by The Diddys with Paige Douglas, "Ain't Got No I Got Life" by Nina Simone, "Only Yesterday" by Weldon Irvine, "Afra Jum (alt take)" by Francisco Mora Catlett, and "Dream Come True (part 1)" by Three Of Us.

A stone slammer from saxophonist Steve Grossman – a record that's essentially a Stone Alliance album with added keyboards from Jan Hammer! Steve's blowing hard, free, and soulfully with his regular bandmates Gene Perla on bass and Don Alias on drums – and Hammer's nicely restrained here, never jamming too much but really bringing a heck of a lot of force to the record with his work on electric piano and moog! Tracks are mostly in the hard choppy funk of the Stone Alliance mode, but have a few freer jazz touches at times – and titles include "This Way Out", "Inmate Man", "Katonah", "Enya", and "In It".

A overlooked gem in Elvin Jones' Blue Note career – and an album that's virtually the blueprint for the Stone Alliance sound forged later in the decade by bassist Gene Perla and reedman Steve Grossman! Both players are working to full effect on this smoking little set – mixing some of the more spiritual modes of other group members with their own sharper-edged, funky-leaning styles – all held together perfectly by both Jones' tight work on drums, and his expansive musical vision! Other players are great too – and include Pepper Adams on baritone sax, David Liebman on flute and tenor, and Jan Hammer on acoustic piano – an instrument he handles with surprising subtlety and soul. Many cuts have a hard, choppy groove – and titles include a remake of "Gee Gee", plus "One's Native Place", "Mr Jones", and "What's Up – That's It".

Stunning stuff – and one of the greatest Charles Mingus albums of all time – a true treasure recorded in that magical year of 1957, when Mingus was finally finding his strongest voice in modern music! The album's near-perfect from start to finish – as bold a statement in jazz as anyone might be allowed to make in the late 50s, yet still always focused, driven, and wrapped up with a tremendous sense of energy. The tracks are all quite long – perfect vehicles for Mingus to reach his full level of expression – played by a group that includes Curtis Porter on tenor and alto sax, Jimmy Knepper on trombone, Wade Legge on piano, and Dannie Richmond on drums – making an early appearance in his alliance with Mingus that would last for many many years. Titles include classic versions of "Haitian Fight Song", "Blue Cee", and "Reincarnation Of A Lovebird" – plus "The Clown", which features a long improvised monologue by Jean Shephard!

Way more than a set of cover versions – a well-chosen batch of 24 rare soul singles that embrace the sweet group soul style used by The Impressions! Some of the artists on the set share some alliance with The Impressions – either because they're from Chicago, or because they've got help from Chicago talents – but the bulk of the material is from non-midwestern sources, and shows the long reach of the sweet harmony style pushed by Curtis Mayfield, Fred Cash, and Sam Gooden on their legendary 60s sides for ABC. Titles include "In Love In Vain" by The Voice Masters, "Come Home Baby" by The Sonics, "I'm Gonna Tell The World" by The Dontells, "Especially For You Baby" by The Four Puzzles, "I've Been Taken For A Ride" by The Saints, "Out Of My Life" by The Expressions, "I Want My Baby" by The Presidents, "What You Gonna Do" by The Brilliants, "In The Sunshine" by The Marvellos, and "Bout My Baby" by The Enjoyables.

A stone slammer from saxophonist Steve Grossman – a record that's essentially a Stone Alliance album with added keyboards from Jan Hammer! Steve's blowing hard, free, and soulfully with his regular bandmates Gene Perla on bass and Don Alias on drums – and Hammer's nicely restrained here, never jamming too much but really bringing a heck of a lot of force to the record with his work on electric piano and moog! Tracks are mostly in the hard choppy funk of the Stone Alliance mode, but have a few freer jazz touches at times – and titles include "This Way Out", "Inmate Man", "Katonah", "Enya", and "In It".

Why was it that the left end of jazz in the 80s often produced some of the most unexpected alliances? Perhaps it was because it was so tough to gig and earn on one own's creative vision that it made more sense to play together with other leaders. Or perhaps the dearth of really creative music in the mainstream made more avant players try to fill the void. Whatever the case, this album's a very typical batch of 80s avant – featuring the unlikely alliance of Peter Brotzmann, Bill Laswell, Ronald Shannon Jackson, and Sonny Sharrock, all playing with noisy whimsy on tracks like "Panzer Be Bop", "Blind Willie", "Straw Dog", and "Pig Cheese".

Stunning stuff – and one of the greatest Charles Mingus albums of all time – a true treasure recorded in that magical year of 1957, when Mingus was finally finding his strongest voice in modern music! The album's near-perfect from start to finish – as bold a statement in jazz as anyone might be allowed to make in the late 50s, yet still always focused, driven, and wrapped up with a tremendous sense of energy. The tracks are all quite long – perfect vehicles for Mingus to reach his full level of expression – played by a group that includes Curtis Porter on tenor and alto sax, Jimmy Knepper on trombone, Wade Legge on piano, and Dannie Richmond on drums – making an early appearance in his alliance with Mingus that would last for many many years. Titles include classic versions of "Haitian Fight Song", "Blue Cee", and "Reincarnation Of A Lovebird" – plus "The Clown", which features a long improvised monologue by Jean Shephard! The deluxe CD reissue includes two bonus tracks, "Passions of a Woman Loved" and "Tonight At Noon", and comes in a 5 inch cardboard sleeve.

Nice compilation including some non-LP cuts from the First Priority label, in its prime. All the tracks here are cut from the same, nice middle school hip hop cloth, with not much more than the MC's rhyming over spare beats in the Audio Two style. 11 tracks in all including MC Lyte & Positive K "I'm Not Havin It", MC Lyte "Survival Of The Fittest" – the original and better version, Audio Two "Many Styles" and "Peer Pressure", Positive K "Tramp", the Alliance "Get On Down" and "Kibbles & Bits" and more.

The roots of the 70s sound of Philly International – served up here in a host of earlier tracks that have a wickedly funky sound! All numbers here are instrumentals – and all are played by some formation of players who'd later end up working for Philadelphia International Records in the MSFB studio group – but who record here under a variety of names used for obscure funky 45s! Much of the work here was cut at Sigma Sound Studios back when the label was first cutting Philly soul – and the collection features early work by artists who include Norman Harris, Bobby Eli, Earl Young, Vince Montana, Ronnie Baker, Leon Huff, Larry Washington, Ron Kersey, and others – all jamming in a way that's more hard-edged and funk-based than the Philly hits of the 70s. Titles include "Nickol Nickol" by Brothers Of Hope, "Vibrations" and "Bo Did It" by Hidden Cost, "Trippin" and "Jason Pew Mosso (part 2)" by Interpretations, "Egg Foo Wa Wa" by Race Street Chinatown Band, "Squeeze Your Knees" by Cupit, "I Can Dig It" by Daley Diggers, "Cupid's Holding" by Alliance", "Ambassador's Theme" & "Jimmy Bishop Theme" by Sam Reed Band, "Keem O Sabe" by Electric Indian, "Monte Carlo" by French Connection, and "Ando's Theme" by Ando Orchestra.